Death Finds a Way: A Janie Riley Mystery by Lorine McGinnis SchulzeJanie Riley is an avid genealogist with a habit of stumbling on to dead bodies. She and her husband head to Salt Lake City Utah to research Janie's elusive 4th great-grandmother. But her search into the past leads her to a dark secret. Can she solve the mysteries of the past and the present before disaster strikes? Available now on Amazon.com and the CreateSpace eStore

Janie Riley is an avid genealogist with a habit of stumbling on to dead bodies. She and her husband head to Salt Lake City Utah to research Janie's elusive 4th great-grandmother. But her search into the past leads her to a dark secret. Can she solve the mysteries of the past and the present before disaster strikes? Available now on Amazon.com and Amazon.ca

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Types of Early Photographs

Daguerreotypes (ca 1839)

Photography arrived in the United States in 1839 thanks to Samuel F. B. Morse, an American artist and inventor.
Morse visited Daguerre in Paris in March 1839 and observed a demonstration of the daguerreotype process. He returned to the United States to spread the news, and by the end of 1839 some larger cities on the East Coast had very successful portrait studios.

6th plate Daguerreotype taken ca 1854

Ambrotypes (circa 1854)

The ambrotype was a glass negative backed with black material, which enabled it to appear as a positive image. Patented in 1854, the ambrotype was made, packaged, and sold in portrait studios as the daguerreotype had been, but at a lower cost. The ambrotype produced a single image on glass.

9th plate Ambrotype ca 1858

6th plate Ambrotype 1861

Tintypes (circa 1855)

The Ferrotype process (tintypes) was introduced in the United States in 1855. It substituted an iron plate for glass and was even cheaper than the ambrotype. Because tintypes were placed in albums along with CDVs, they were often trimmed at the sides and corners. Tintypes were produced in various sizes

Full plate 6 1/2" x 8 1/2"

Half plate 4 1/2" x 51/2"

1/4 plate 3 1/8" x 4 1/8"

1/6 plate 2 1/2" x 3 1/2"

1/9 plate 2" x 2 Ĺ"

Gem approximately 1/2" x 1"

Gem tintype ca 1860s. A Gem tintype could be 3/4" to 1" wide. Carte de visite sized card mounts (2Ĺ"x4") enclosed the gem and the finished item was known as a carte de visite tintype or ferrotype

9th plate ( 2 x 2.5) tintype in matte. Civil War Soldier

6th plate (2.5 x 3.5) tintype.

Carte de Visite or CDVs (ca 1859)

CDV stands for carte de visite, a photographic calling card. The CDV process, which began in France in 1854, involved a special camera that produced eight poses on one negative. The CDV quickly replaced the old glass images of the ambrotypes, producing a card the size of the then standard calling card, around 2.5 by 4".

The CDVís albumen process produced a negative from which any number of prints could be made - and on early CDVs it was important for the photographer to note that more prints were always available.

CDVs arrived in the United States around 1859, on the eve of the Civil War (1861-1865) during which demand skyrocketed as soldiers and their loved ones sought an affordable image remembrance. Many people began collecting portraits of political figures, actors and actresses, Civil War generals, as well as family and friends. Special photo albums were designed especially for cartes-de-visite.

In the United States, the carte-de-visite played second fiddle to cheaper variations on the daguerreotype theme. Thus the early CDVs are rather uncommon.

CDV with square corners pre 1872

CDV with rounded corners after 1872. Jemima Van Slyke

CDV with corners cut to fit album. You must use fashion clues, revenue stamps or photographer logo or name to date the photograph

Cabinet Cards (circa 1870)

CDVís were eventually replaced in the 1870s by the larger Cabinet Cards which used the same photographic process but were on a larger 4 by 6" card.